Sebastian Vettel was at a loss to explain his lack of pace compared to teammate Charles Leclerc in British Grand Prix qualifying.

The Monegasque's improvement was one of the stories of Saturday at Silverstone, as he led final practice, Q1 and Q2 before slipping behind the Mercedes to finish third in Q3.

In contrast, the four-time world champion found himself six-tenths down in sixth, having also been out-qualified by both Red Bulls.

“At least I took part,” Vettel smiled, reflecting on his disappointing result. “I just didn’t have the speed.

“Usually it’s pretty clear that you go faster from Q1 to Q3 without doing anything, but that didn’t happen today.

“I think Q1 we were as fast as in Q3, so it was a bit strange. I didn’t have a great feel for the car which didn’t help.”

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More specifically on Leclerc, the German admitted the reason for the gap wasn't clear.

“I think he did a good job but for me, I don’t really have an answer now," he said. "I think it’s fairly evenly spread, he seems to gain a bit everywhere.

“I didn’t really have a great feeling this afternoon and part of it around here, you need a bit of it to throw the car from one side to the other.”

Looking ahead to the race, Vettel concluded by suggesting third or fourth was the most realistic position he could aim for.

"The Mercs will be quick but I think race-pace looks fine. It will be a tough battle between us and the Red Bulls," he stated.

As for Leclerc, he believed Mercedes' infamous 'party mode' likely made the difference as they improved in the pole shoot-out.

"In Q2 we were going well, but in Q3 I think Mercedes turned up their engine as they were very very quick. We need to work on the corners," he explained.

"Third place is the best we could have done today so I'm very happy about it."